cannabisnews.com: Marijuana Eases Pain in HIV Patients: Study Marijuana Eases Pain in HIV Patients: Study Posted by CN Staff on February 12, 2007 at 15:28:31 PT By Reuters Source: Reuters Washington, DC -- Smoking marijuana eases a type of chronic foot pain in people with the AIDS virus, according to a study published Monday that the researchers touted as demonstrating marijuana's medicinal benefits.But the White House drug policy office said the research was flawed and offered only "false hope." The study, appearing in the journal Neurology, focused on sensory neuropathy - a kind of severe nerve pain usually felt as aching, painful numbness and burning in the feet - associated with human immunodeficiency virus infection.HIV-infected people who smoked marijuana reported a 34 percent reduction in daily pain from this condition, compared to a 17 percent decline among those who smoked placebos.Fifty HIV-infected adults, mostly men, who had this pain but otherwise were in stable health took part from 2003 to 2005. All were previous marijuana smokers but were not considered drug abusers. They were told to stop using it prior to the study.Half of them smoked marijuana cigarettes three times a day for five days. The other half smoked placebo cigarettes that were identical other than having had the cannabinoids - the primary active components of the plant - extracted.Half the marijuana smokers said their pain level had declined by more than 30 percent, while a quarter of the placebo group reported similar pain reduction. The volunteers had no serious side effects.Sensory neuropathy affects about a third of HIV-infected people, making walking or standing hard. 'Smoke Screen'Lead researcher Dr. Donald Abrams, one of the first doctors to study AIDS at the start of the epidemic, said the research demonstrated in a carefully conducted clinical trial that smoking marijuana provides some benefit to these patients."I think that there are people out there who say there is no evidence that marijuana is medicine, that this is all just a smoke screen," Abrams, of San Francisco General Hospital and the University of California, San Francisco, said in an interview.Abrams said he hoped his findings would provide evidence "to help answer this question in an intelligent fashion."There is a fierce debate over whether marijuana, an illegal drug under federal law, should be legal for medical uses like treating pain or nausea in AIDS or cancer patients.David Murray, the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy's chief scientist, said the suffering of AIDS patients is an issue of great concern."Unfortunately, this particular study is not terribly convincing," Murray said, citing what he saw as methodological problems."Unfortunately, it will lead many people into a false hope that street marijuana is somehow going to be the thing I can use that will make me feel better and won't jeopardize my health. Now that is a fraud and a dangerous one," he told Reuters.The study found the relief from smoking marijuana was comparable to that provided by pills now used to treat this nerve pain. But some patients are not helped by these antiseizure medications, and others cannot tolerate them, drawing interest in marijuana as an alternative.Californian Diana Dodson, a 50-year-old grandmother who got AIDS via a contaminated blood product, said some pain medications leave her in a stupor."I just want people to understand that this is about sick people who deserve a quality of life. If it's something that can help us, we should have safe access to it," Dodson, one of the patients in the study, said of marijuana.Source: Reuters (Wire)Published: February 12, 2007Copyright: 2007 Reuters LimitedRelated Article & Web Site:Americans For Safe Accesshttp://www.safeaccessnow.org/ Smoking MJ Reduces Intense Pain in HIV Patientshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread22632.shtmlCannabisNews Medical Marijuana Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/medical.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #3 posted by dongenero on February 13, 2007 at 08:09:02 PT white house drug policy office But the White House drug policy office said ................Noooooooooooooooooooooooooo oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo oooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! NoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNonoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNo.Then they started stamping their feet, and then flung themselves to the ground and began kicking and screaming, while plugging their ears with their fingers. [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by FoM on February 12, 2007 at 16:12:57 PT Marijuana Reduces HIV Neuropathy By Michael Smith, Senior Staff Writer, MedPage Today Reviewed by Zalman S. Agus, MD; Emeritus Professor at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. February 12, 2007 SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 12 -- Smoking marijuana significantly reduces nerve pain associated with HIV infection, according to researchers here. Action PointsExplain to interested patients that HIV is often associated with severe nerve pain in the extremities, often described as aching, painful numbness, or burning. Note that this study found that smoking cannabis significantly reduced such pain, compared with a placebo drug, with minimal side effects. In a randomized, placebo-controlled trial, the drug reduced chronic neuropathic pain by 34% compared with 17% for patients smoking placebo cigarettes, found Donald Abrams, M.D, of the University of California San Francisco. The pain reductions are comparable with those seen with oral drugs used to treat peripheral HIV-associated neuropathy, Dr. Abrams and colleagues reported in the Feb. 13 issue of Neurology. "There is a measurable medical benefit to smoking cannabis for these patients," Dr. Abrams commented. Complete Article: http://www.medpagetoday.com/Neurology/GeneralNeurology/tb/5048 [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by FoM on February 12, 2007 at 15:30:59 PT Dennis Kucinich To The Rescue But the White House drug policy office said the research was flawed and offered only "false hope." [ Post Comment ] Post Comment